1975 International League season

BR minors page

The 1975 International League season was the 90th in the league's history, and ended with the Tidewater Tides winning their second Governors' Cup in four years. The Tides would go on to lose the Junior World Series.

There were a handful of changes to the IL's structure this season: the season was shortened to 140 games, the two-division alignment was scrapped and the traditional four-team playoff format returned. The series length was shortened from best-of-seven to best-of-five.

Tidewater and Rochester finished the season tied, so a one-game playoff took place September 2 in Norfolk, VA for the IL pennant. The Tides won 8-0 behind a four-hit shutout by Nino Espinosa. This result is reflected in the standings below.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Tidewater Tides	86	55	.610	-	Joe Frazier	New York Mets
Rochester Red Wings	85	56	.603	1	Joe Altobelli	Baltimore Orioles
Syracuse Chiefs	72	64	.529	11½	Bobby Cox	New York Yankees
Charleston Charlies	72	67	.518	13	Steve Demeter	Pittsburgh Pirates
Memphis Blues	65	75	.464	20½	Karl Kuehl	Montreal Expos
Richmond Braves	62	75	.453	22	Clint Courtney/Bob Lemon	Atlanta Braves
Toledo Mud Hens	62	78	.443	23½	Jim Bunning	Philadelphia Phillies
Pawtucket Red Sox	53	87	.379	32½	Joe Morgan	Boston Red Sox

Playoffs

	First Round					Governors' Cup Finals
	1	Tidewater Tides	3
	4	Charleston Charlies	0
						1	Tidewater Tides	3
						3	Syracuse Chiefs	1
	2	Rochester Red Wings	1
	3	Syracuse Chiefs	3

First Round

Tidewater vs. Charleston Date Away Home September 3 Tidewater 8 Charleston 0 September 4 Tidewater 10 Charleston 2 September 5 Charleston 0 Tidewater 1 Tidewater wins series 3-0

Rochester vs. Syracuse Date Away Home September 3 Rochester 5 Syracuse 0 September 4 Rochester 1 Syracuse 11 September 5 Syracuse 7 Rochester 0 September 6 Syracuse 5 Rochester 3 Syracuse wins series 3-1

Governor's Cup Finals

Tidewater vs. Syracuse Date Away Home September 7 Tidewater 3 Syracuse 1 September 8 Tidewater 8 Syracuse 10 September 9 Syracuse 1 Tidewater 2 September 10 Syracuse 1 Tidewater 7 Tidewater wins series 3-1 and advances to Junior World Series

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Mike Vail, Tidewater, .342
• Runs Scored Ellis Valentine, Memphis, 87
• Hits Valentine, Memphis, 151
• Doubles Royle Stillman, Rochester, and Valentine, Memphis, 30
• Triples Vail, Tidewater, 9
• Home Runs Bill Nahorodny, Toledo, 19
• Runs Batted In Roy Staiger, Tidewater, 81
• Stolen Bases Miguel Dilone, Charleston, 48

Pitching

• Wins Odell Jones, Charleston, and Mike Willis, Rochester, 14
• Earned Run Average Pablo Torrealba, Richmond, 1.45
• Winning Percentage Mike Flanagan, Rochester, .765
• Complete Games Craig Swan, Tidewater, 13
• Shutouts Flanagan, Rochester; Rick Sawyer, Syracuse; Wayne Simpson, Toledo; and Swan, Syracuse, 4
• Strikeouts Jones, Charleston, 157
• Saves Torrealba, Richmond, 15

All-Star Team

• First Base Brock Pemberton, Tidewater
• Second Base Willie Randolph, Charleston
• Shortstop Bob Bailor, Rochester
• Third Base Roy Staiger, Tidewater
• Outfield Mike Vail, Tidewater; Ellis Valentine, Memphis; Royle Stillman, Rochester
• Catcher Bill Nahorodny, Toledo; Joe Nolan, Richmond
• Pitcher Craig Swan, Tidewater; Mike Flanagan, Rochester
• Manager Joe Frazier, Tidewater

References

Brian Bennett, On A Silver Diamond: The Story Of Rochester Community Baseball from 1956-1996. Triphammer Publishing, 1997.

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.

1976 Baseball Guide.

External Links

1975 Rochester Red Wings review – On A Silver Diamond